Mine?
by prettylittlepinklady
Summary: Aria found out she was pregnant with Ezra's baby, days before graduating high school. In a panic, she didn't tell anyone, instead rushing off to college in New York. Four years later, she returns to Rosewood and bumps into Ezra…
1. Return to Rosewood

"Mommy, when will we get there?" Four year old Abigail whined, tugging on her mother's arm.

"Soon, baby girl. I promise." Aria told her daughter. She turned her head away, looking out the window as she tried to figure out exactly where they were. They'd been on the train for over an hour now so they shouldn't be too much further away. Aria's stomach was doing flips as she realised just how close she was to finally being back home. In the four years since graduation, she hadn't been back. She'd found out, only days before graduation that she was pregnant. Although she was sure her friends would have supported her, she knew her family would have been disappointed. So she hadn't told them. She had simply left for college in New York and made up excuses as to why she couldn't come home. Of course, her parents did try to visit her but she found ways around that too.

But her family finding out about Abigail wasn't what really scared her. She was really scared about Abigail's father finding out. She still had the hundreds of texts and missed calls from him when she suddenly left.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Aria was beginning to regret her decision to catch the train home with Abigail coming up with something new to whine about every minute.

"We'll grab some food when we get to the station, okay?"

"But that's ages away."

"Abigail…" The little girl heard the warning in her mother's voice and shrunk back into her seat. She may have only been four years old but she wasn't stupid. All her life, she'd only ever had her mother around and the two of them were like glue but Abigail was still young and occasionally let that get the better of her, at least until Aria put her back in her place. Aria's phone began to ring and she groaned as she fumbled around in her bag for it. "I already said, I'm not coming in to work this weekend…" She checked the caller ID and saw that it was actually her mother calling.

"Hey mom."

"Hi Aria, how far away are you?" Ella's voice echoed down the line.

"Not too much longer I think. We've just hit the hour-and-fifteen-minute mark, so probably about another twenty minutes on the train and then the forty-five minutes to Rosewood."

"Okay. Did you want me to pick you up from the station?"

"No thanks, I'll hire a car. I'm probably going to want to drive around town myself anyway."

"Okay then. We'll see you when you get here."

"Bye mom." Disconnecting her phone, she noticed that Abigail had her hand over her mouth and laughed. It was a game they'd made up years ago. Whenever someone from Aria's past called, Abigail would cover her mouth to keep from talking and give the secret away. "It's okay now, sweetie."

"Mommy, do I get to meet them now?"

"Well, not right now but when we get to Rosewood, yes you do."

"So I won't have to cover my mouth anymore?"

"No, you won't." Aria smiled at the fact that her family would finally know about the little girl who had been making her life so happy these past few years. She ruffled the girl's hair and she squealed, dodging out of the way.

"Mommy, don't do that. Then it won't be pretty to meet your mommy and friends."

"It's okay, baby girl. Would you like me to fix it for you?"

"Yes please." Abigail scrambled up onto her mother's lap and Aria quickly pulled the long brown hair into two braids, tying the ends with a silver bow to match the little girl's outfit. Aria herself was wearing a red and black checked dress with black tights and lace up ankle boots. She had a black jacket over the top to keep warm and triangle earrings hung from her hears. The pink streaks were back in her hair, which was gently curled as well. Abigail on the other hand wore a pretty pink skirt and silver sequined top. On her feet was a pair of little white ballet flats and she had white stockings to keep warm.

Just as Aria finished Abigail's hair, the train finally pulled into the station and the two of them hurried to drag their suitcases out onto the platform. Aria took hold of Abigail's hand and dragged her own suitcase with the other, fighting against the crowd of people. Finally, they made it out to the front of the station and they walked the quick few blocks to the car hire place.

"Hi, I'm looking to hire a car for the weekend." She said to the man behind the desk.

"Big or small?"

"Just a small one." He asked her a series of questions about her and her trip before finally showing her out to a little blue Honda Jazz. She put her suitcase in the back beside Abigail's and made sure the girl was secure in the back before climbing into the driver's seat and pulling away, waving at the man as she went.

Once out on the main roads, she switched the radio on and the two of them spent the drive singing along to the songs they heard every day on the radio in their small New York apartment. When they got to the streets of Rosewood, though, Aria turned the music off, much to Abigail's annoyance and they drove the last portion of the trip in silence. Aria parked the car on the road and got out, looking up at the big house she'd grown up in. It seemed huge in comparison to the apartment she now lived in.

"Aria! You're here!" Ella's excited voice cut through her thoughts and she looked towards the front porch where her mother was rushing down to meet her, a grin etched onto her face.

"Hi mom." She greeted when Ella was close enough.

"Oh, honey you look amazing. I can't believe it's been four years since we saw you in person. Come inside, Mike's dying to see you and so is everyone else." Aria rolled her eyes. Of course her mother had invited other people around to be there when she got home.

"Okay, just let me get my things." She took a deep breath and turned back to the car, bending into the backseat to help Abigail out. She heard Ella gasp when the girl came into her view.

"Who's this?" Ella asked, the smile suddenly gone.

"Mom, this is Abigail. She's my daughter."to Rose


	2. Meeting Abigail

Ella's eyes widened at Aria's words.

"Your daughter? What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's my daughter, I got pregnant and had her in my freshman year of college." Aria said, holding Abigail close. "Please, don't yell at me or hate me. I just-…"

"Aria, I don't hate you. I'm surprised, certainly and a little hurt that I didn't know about my granddaughter sooner." Ella's reaction, although it was exactly what Aria wanted, was a little surprising.

"Really?"

"Yes. Aria, you're an adult now. You have been ever since you left for college."

"Thank-you mom." A grin spread over Aria's face as she hugged her mother. "Would you like to meet your granddaughter?"

"Of course." Ella smiled at the girl who was hiding behind Aria's leg.

"Abby, come out and meet your grandma." Aria coxed, pulling on her hand. Slowly Abigail came out and looked up at Ella.

"Hi sweetie. You can call me nana, if you'd like." Ella said, crouching down to Abigail's level.

"Nana." Abigail said, testing out the word. She paused for a moment and then broke out into a grin and rushed forward to hug Ella who just had time to brace herself and catch the girl. Aria laughed as she stood back to watch the interaction between her daughter and her mother.

"Are you guys ever coming back inside?" Mike's voice called out and Aria looked over the car at her brother.

"Sorry. We're coming in now." She called and grinned at him. He rolled his eyes and went back into the house just as Ella stood up, still holding Abigail who was clinging to her for dear life.

"Shall we?" Ella asked and Aria nodded, shutting the car door and locking it. The three of them made their way across the front lawn to the house, Abigail finally letting go of Ella in favour of holding Aria's hand and hiding behind her leg once again. A shout went through the room as Aria came into view and she smiled to see all her old friends gathered together to welcome her home.

"It's good to be home." She said and looked down at Abigail. "But before I get swarmed, I want you all to meet someone. This is Abigail, my daughter." Looking up again, she was met with a sea of confused faces, her brother being right at the front.

"You have a daughter?" He asked, looking at Abigail who wouldn't come out from behind Aria's leg.

"Yes. I got pregnant and had her in my freshman year of college."

"Wow. Uh, hi Abigail. My name's Mike. I'm your uncle." He bent down to Abigail's level like Ella had but this time the girl stayed hidden behind her mother's leg.

"She's shy around new people. Especially crowds." Aria explained and Mike nodded. He would have plenty of time later to get to know his niece.

Before long, a party was in full swing and Aria mingled with the residents of Rosewood, Abigail clinging to her leg. She did notice that Ezra and her three best friends weren't around and wondered why but decided to ask later. After a while, she began to feel the effects of travel creep up on her and she excused herself, letting herself into her old bedroom.

"Abby, can you let go of mommy now?" Aria asked and Abigail finally let go, sitting on the floor by the bed.

"Mommy, I don't know if I like it here."

"Why not?"

"There's so many people. It's scary." Aria laughed at the pained look on her daughter's face.

"Don't worry, sweetie. They won't always be here. They were only here to welcome me home and because nana didn't know you were coming."

"So if I go to sleep now, they won't be here when I wake up?"

"Well, most of them will be gone. Nana will still be here and your Uncle Mike. But everyone else will be gone."

"Okay." Abigail was silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "Where will I sleep, mommy?"

"Umm…" It was one thing Aria hadn't thought about when she'd made plans to visit. "Let me just go and talk to nana, okay? You stay here and I'll be right back." Abigail nodded and Aria left the room, running down the stairs in search of her mother.

"Aria! There you are. We were wondering where you went. And where's little Abigail?" Ashley Marin stepped into her path and she smiled politely.

"Abby's upstairs. She was getting tired so she's going to take a nap. I'm actually just looking for my mom, have you seen her?"

"Last I saw she was in the kitchen. Well, I'll let you go, but we must catch up. I'm sure Hanna would love to see you again." It was the perfect opening for Aria to ask about her blonde friend's whereabouts but she just smiled and sidestepped Ashley to continue the search for her mother who she eventually found in the living room, chatting with Pam Fields.

"Mom."

"Aria, sweetie. How are you? It seems like forever since I saw you. And look at you now, all grown up, child and all." Pam gushed.

"It's lovely to see you too, Mrs Fields."

"Oh please, call me Pam." She laughed and laid her hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Sure. Um, mom do you still have the roll-away bed upstairs? I totally forgot about bringing something for Abby."

"I think so. If we do, it'll be in your brother's room. Here, let's go and have a look. Lovely to talk, Pam." Aria followed Ella back up the stairs and into Mike's bedroom. Indeed the roll-away bed was there, tucked under his bed and they dragged it out towards Aria's room.

"Mommy, this room is amazing!" Abigail cried when she saw her mother return. She was standing up on Aria's old bed, looking at the hundreds of old photos that covered the wall.

"Thank, you sweetie. Now look here, your very own bed. How about we get it all set up and you can go to sleep?" Abigail nodded and jumped down, rushing over to hug Ella again.

"Hello, Abby. You've been a very good girl today. Are you always this good for your mommy?"

"Yes nana. I'm always a good girl. Especially at school." Ella looked up at Aria who shook her head slightly and Ella laughed.

"Well you'll have to tell me all about your school when you wake up. But for now, I need my hands to make your bed." Abigail giggled and let go, standing to the side as Aria and Ella quickly made the bed.

"There we go. One nice, comfy bed for my princess." Aria said when they were done.

"I'm going to head downstairs and start clearing out the house. Feel free to come down if you want or you can get a few hours of shut-eye if you'd like. I thought we'd go down to the Grille for dinner tonight." Ella said.

"Yeah. I might get some sleep. I didn't realise how much the travel could take out of me. Nut dinner at the Grille sounds good." Ella smiled and left the room. Aria turned to Abigail and picked the girl up off the floor.

"Right, missy. It's time to get some sleep. I don't think we'll bother with you jammies for now because we're going out later. You can just sleep in your underwear, okay?"

"Yes mommy." Abigail began to pull her shoes and tights off while Aria pulled the ribbons out of her hair and brushed it out so that it hung in dark waves down her back then she helped Abigail take off her skirt and top before pulling back the bed sheets.

"Alright, here you go. I'm just going to be over here if you need me, okay?" Aria said, indicating her own bed as she tucked Abigail in.

"Okay. Night-night, mommy."

"Goodnight, baby girl." Aria kissed her forehead and crossed the room to the window where she caught sight of several guests crossing the lawn before she drew the curtains closed and fell into her bed, almost immediately slipping into sleep.


	3. Dinner at the Grille

Aria awoke to a persistent poke in her side and she opened her eyes to find Abigail standing beside the bed, her hair messed up from sleep.

"What's the matter, Abby?" Aria asked sleepily as she sat up.

"Nana said it's time to get ready." Abigail told her proudly.

"Okay. Do you want to wear your same outfit or do you want to wear something else?"

"Can I wear my purple dress?"

"Sure. We have to go and get our things from the car, though." Aria was tempted to change into something else herself. Grabbing her mother's hand, Abigail began to drag her down the stairs, past a grinning Ella, towards the car. Aria grabbed their bags and carried them back inside, passing Abigail her Disney suitcase once they were in the door.

"Go find your dress and I'll be up in a minute." Aria told her and Abigail dragged her bag up the stairs, almost running into Mike on the way.

"She seems a handful. I don't know how you raised her without help for so long." Ella commented and Aria sighed.

"She can be a handful, but I wasn't without help. I had my New York friends to help out."

"I still would have liked to watch her grow up. But there's nothing I can do about it now."

"You can be in her life now. You too, Mike."

"It'd be an honour. You know that's about the fifth time she's run into me since she woke up." Mike said with a laugh.

"How long has she been up?" Aria asked.

"Not long, probably half an hour. She spent most of that time running up and down the stairs. I think stairs that go from one place and end up in the same house are a novelty to her, what with growing up in New York." Ella laughed and Aria frowned.

"She's been in a double-story house before. She's just excited because she's heard so many stories of you guys and she finally gets to meet you." Aria defended herself and Mike was about to cut in with a smart remark when Abigail appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Are you coming mommy? I've got my dress ready." Laughing, Aria picked up her suitcase and went up the stairs into her bedroom where Abigail's entire suitcase had been emptied, her clothes scattered across the room.

"Oh, Abby. What have you done?" Aria asked with a laugh.

"My dress was all the way at the bottom mommy." Abigail said, innocence written over her face. Aria shook her head and picked up the frilly purple dress, helping her daughter into it.

"Would you like me to put curls in your hair?"

"Yes please, mommy." Aria rarely used her curling iron on Abigail's hair, saving it only for use on special occasions.

"Okay, just let me get changed while it heats up and then I'll do your hair." She plugged in the cord and turned to her own suitcase, pulling out a black skirt and white sweater. Quickly slipping them on, she added her black ankle boots and added her black ankle boots. Then she turned to Abigail and began to curl the ends of her hair, listening to her daughter's endless chatter. The whole process only took about half an hour and soon Aria was walking back down the stairs, her purse in one hand, Abigail's small hand in the other.

"Well, don't you look very pretty, Abby." Ella cooed when they came into sight.

"Thank-you nana. But I think mommy looks extra pretty."

"She does indeed. Now, we just have to wait for your Uncle Mike to come down and we can head off." Ella smiled at the little girl. As if on cue, Mike could be heard slamming his door shut and crashing down the stairs in his usual manner.

"Some things never change." Aria said with a laugh and Mike glared at her before turning to Abigail, arms held out for a hug. The little girl happily let go of Aria's hand and leapt into Mike's arms, giggling in delight when he picked her up and spun her around.

"Hey Abby. Are you ready to go?" He asked, sitting her on his hip.

"Yeah!" Abigail cried excitedly.

"When she falls asleep at the table because you hyped her up, you're going to carry her out." Aria warned, putting on her black hat.

"Sure. Let's go." Ella shook her head at Mike's innocence and followed him out to Aria's hired car where he slid in beside Abigail in the back, leaving the front passenger seat free to her.

The drive didn't take long and soon they were sitting comfortably around the table chatting when Aria caught sight of a flash of familiar brown hair. She chose to ignore it, instead diving head first into the conversation, telling her mother and brother about her life since she'd left.

"So once I finished classes, I had to choose where I wanted to go. Of course, having Abby meant that I was limited to choices because I needed to be home. So when I got offered the curator job at the museum, I jumped at the chance."

"It's such a change to where you were heading in high school." Ella observed.

"Well, I do plan on finding something else eventually but I'm waiting until Abby's older to make any real changes."

"What happened to your singing? You could make great money and still be around for her as much as you want." Mike suggested.

"It's not as stable a career as it might seem. I needed something stable to get me on my feet so that I could give Abby the best chances."

"Oh." Mike was silent for a while, simply watching Abigail enjoy her food.

"Hey, mom. How come the girls weren't at the party?"

"Well, Emily moved to LA with Maya and Spencer is at college in Washington. As for Hanna, she's taking classes at Hollis and co-running a store at the Rosewood Mall. She was working today so she couldn't make it." Ella explained and Aria sighed, she knew she shouldn't have expected her friends to stick around.

"I guess I can still see Hanna at some point but I may have to track down the other two when I get home."

"Speaking of home, where are you living?" Aria had to smile at Ella's change from informative to concerned mom.

"Oh, we've got a small two bedroom apartment on Broadway. It's not ideal but we're fine."

"Broadway? How did you manage that?"

"One of the people I work with was subletting it and thought of me. At the time I was still living on campus but I jumped at the chance to live away from campus. As it is, it's closer to work than the dorm was."

"I guess. We'll have to come and see it some time."

"Of course. Now that you know about Abby, I have no intentions of keeping you away."

"Maybe we can visit for Christmas." Ella mussed and Mike looked up at the mention of Christmas

"Wait, it's only July."

"If you'd been listening to the conversation, you'd know that we were talking about going to Aria's apartment for Christmas this year."

"Oh. That'd be awesome!" Aria laughed.

"So, what have you been up to Mike? You've heard all about my life, what about yours?"

"Er, this and that. I've been helping Toby with his business but I'm looking at going to Hollis next year."

"Toby Cavanaugh?"

"Yeah. He really expanded his business after you left and he has an actual office in Rosewood now and there's a bunch of guys working for him now."

"Wow. Is he still with Spence?" Mike shrugged.

"Don't know. I haven't seen her for a while. Last I heard they were still together but with her away so much, it's gotta have some sort of effect on their relationship."

"When did you get so smart?"

"When I had to step up and look after mom when you left." They were silent for a moment after that.

"I er, I'm sorry if I hurt you guys when I left like that. Well, when I left, I was planning on keeping contact but then, you know, Abby came along and things changed."

"Aria, no one blames you for what happened. I'm not saying I like the choices you made but there's no way to change it now." Ella assured her

"I know but looking back, things would have been so much different if you had known."

"I still don't know how you managed to keep it a secret for so long." Mike wanted to know.

"It was difficult. I had to be careful of photos that I let online and when I got phone calls from you guys, I would make sure that Abby was out of the room or playing our game."

"Game?"

"Abby, do you want to tell nana about our game?" Aria asked.

"When mommy's phone rings, I have to cover my mouth with my hand to make no noise unless she says it's okay." Ella raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

"I know it's dramatic, but it's the way it was."


	4. Reminiscent

The next day Ella left early for work and Mike left not long after, claiming he would be home late that evening. After waking Abigail, Aria set about whipping up scrambled eggs for the two of them while Abigail sat at the kitchen counter, watching.

"What would you like to do today, sweetie?" Aria asked, setting a plate in front of Abigail.

"Can we have a look at the town mommy? I want to know where you were a little girl."

"Sure. And maybe we can meet nana for lunch, how does that sound?"

"Yay!"

"You know, I'm so happy that you've met your nana."

"I am too, mommy."

"Do you know what else will happen now that you've met nana and Uncle Mike?" Abigail shook her head.

"No. What will happen?"

"You'll get more presents at Christmas and on your birthday." Aria laughed as Abigail's eyes widened

"Wow."

"Don't get too excited. Have you finished?"

"Yes mommy."

"Good. Go upstairs and pick out your clothes for today and I'll be up in a minute." Abigail nodded and jumped down from her seat, rushing off while Aria packed the dishes into the dishwasher. Then she followed Abigail up the stairs to find her sitting on the bed, swinging her legs as she read a picture book she'd found.

It didn't take long for the two of them to shower and get dressed and they were soon climbing into Aria's car to start the day. Today Aria had chosen a pair of faded jeans and a colourful patterned tank-top with low-heeled ankle boots. Abigail was wearing hot pink leggings and a black and white polka-dot top and black ballet flats. Both had hair pulled into messy ponytails and Abigail had a pink bow in hers.

Pulling into a parking spot near the mall, Aria helped Abigail out and the two of them slowly began to make their way around the town, Aria pointing out various places to Abigail who skipped along happily.

"And this is where I went to school, just before I moved to New York."

"It doesn't look like a school."

"It does, it's just different to how the schools in New York look."

"Why?"

"Because in New York, there's not as much space for the school's so they're built in tall buildings. Here in Rosewood they have lots more space so they have different buildings." Aria explained.

"Oh. Can we go in, mommy?" As Abigail spoke, the school bell rang, signalling the end of class.

"I don't see why not. Nana will be in class now but I'm sure it'll be okay to look around." Together they climbed the front steps of Rosewood Day and Aria pushed the big front doors open, the sounds and familiar smell bringing back a flurry of memories. They slowly walked through the halls and Aria showed Abigail classrooms and lockers, the lunchroom and the library. They were just looking at the courtyard when Aria heard a voice that made her freeze in her tracks.

"Aria?" It was too late to pretend like she hadn't heard so she slowly turned around and faced the person.

"Ezra. Hi."


	5. THAT Conversation

"How have you been?"

"Great, actually I'm on vacation at the moment. I thought I'd come back for a visit."

"How long has it been since I last saw you? It seems like forever." Aria laughed at his choice of words.

"Almost four years. A lot has changed since I've been here."

"It sure has." Ezra smiled at her. "And who's this little one?" He gestured to Abigail who was intently watching a cluster of students nearby.

"This is Abigail." Aria wasn't sure if she wanted Ezra to know Abigail was her daughter yet but her thoughts were not necessary when Abigail tugged on her hand.

"Mommy, what are they doing?"

"Mommy? She's your daughter?" Ezra asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I don't know what they're doing sweetie. How about you go sit over there while I finish talking, okay?"

"Yes mommy." Abigail happily skipped off to the bench that Aria had indicated and sat down, watching as the Rosewood students milled around her.

"How old is she?" Ezra captured Aria's attention again and she turned back to him.

"She's just turned three." She lied.

"Wow, so you had her not long after you left."

"Well, it was about nine months later. I had to actually get pregnant first." Aria said with a small laugh.

"Of course. Is her father around?" The hope in Ezra's voice was slowly disappearing.

"Er, no. He's not. It didn't end well. He didn't even know I was pregnant."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. It was a mistake, it's in the past."

"So, would you be interested in catching up sometime? How long are you in town for?"

"I'm only in town till Wednesday and I have rather a lot to do in that time. Maybe next time I'm in town though."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'd better be getting back to work. It was great to see you again."

"Yeah, nice to see you again too." Aria smiled and waved slightly as he walked away, looking over his shoulder at her once.

"Mommy, who was that?" Abigail asked, running up.

"That was my teacher when I was in high school. He was just saying hi."

"Oh. Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we go get ice-cream?"

"I think it's too cold for ice-cream but we can go get cupcakes if you'd like."

"Oooh, yes please." Abigail had heard hundreds of stories about how good the cupcakes at Lucky Leon's were and was excited to finally try one.

"Let's go. Afterwards, I'll take you to the park."

"Yay!" Abigail happily skipped along as they made their way out of the school a headed towards Lucky Leon's.


	6. Going Home

By the time Wednesday morning rolled around, Abigail had seen everything there was to see I Rosewood ad she was eager to get home again. They had met up with Hanna on Tuesday and the blonde woman had been delighted to see her best friend again and meet Abigail.

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Ella asked as Aria hugged her goodbye.

"No, I've already stayed longer than I really should have. But I'll call you when we get home."

"Skype me. Then I can see Abby again." Aria laughed. In the four days that Ella had known her granddaughter, she had become very attached to the little girl. Likewise, Abigail had become very attached to her grandmother and Uncle.

"Sure. Where is Abby?" Aria looked around to find that her daughter was no longer standing patiently by her side.

"I don't know." Ella noticed that Mike was no longer nearby either. Together, Aria and Ella looked out the window to find Mike running around in circles with a very hyped up Abigail on his back. Her hair was flying in the wind and she was giggling delightedly, gently tapping his head when she wanted to go faster. Aria couldn't help but laugh and quickly pulled out her phone to take a photo.

"Mike! I need Abigail now. We have to go." She called, stepping out onto the porch. Mike smirked at her and charged towards the car, coming to a halt centimetres from it and he let Abigail slip from his back, opening the door for her.

"My lady." He said, bowing low. Aria shook her head at his antics and crossed the lawn, tossing her bags into the boot. She hugged her brother goodbye. "Don't leave it too long before you visit again." He whispered.

"I won't. You'll see her again soon, I promise."

"Good." He finally let go and Aria turned to Ella.

"Bye mom. I've had a really good time."

"So have I, honey." Ella grinned and turned to Abigail. "It was lovely to meet you, Abby. I hope you had lots of fun here."

"I did, nana. Now you need to come and visit us in New York."

"Maybe I will one day soon. You be good for you mommy though, okay?"

"Yes nana. Bye Uncle Mike. Bye nana." Abigail climbed into the car and waited as Aria gave a final hug to her mom and got into the front seat. Then they drove off, waving until Ella and Mike could no longer be seen.

"Well, I certainly had lots of fun. Did you?" Aria asked.

"Yes mommy. I want to come back again."

"Maybe another time sweetie. For now, we have to go home and go back to work and school."

"Okay. But I'll be waiting until we can visit nana and Uncle Mike again."

They chattered about their trip all the way back to Philadelphia and then again on the train. It was nearly three o'clock by the time they reached the station in New York and they tiredly dragged their bags up onto the street. Because Aria could see that Abigail was getting tired, she decided to hail a cab rather than walk the rest of the way home. When they finally arrived at their apartment, Aria unlocked the door and they went in, both collapsing on the couch.

"Mommy, I'm tired. Can I go to bed?"

"How about we have something to eat and then we'll go to bed?"

"Okay."

"Does noodles sound okay to you?"

"Yes mommy." Aria pushed herself up and slowly went into the kitchen to make noodles for them both but when she came back, Abigail had already fallen asleep on the couch. Smiling, Aria gently picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, tucking her into bed. Then she went back to the living room, pressing play on her recorded messages.

"Hi Aria, it's Gemma, just letting you know that everything is all set for Taya's party on the weekend. The only thing we still need to do is get her out of the house for a few hours beforehand. If you can call me back to discuss it, that's be great. Bye."

"Miss Montgomery, it's Dean Waldorf. I'm just returning your call regarding Abigail's report, if you could call me back when you get this. Bye."

"Aria, baby, I missed seeing you this weekend. How come you didn't tell me you were going out of town? I could have joined you."

Aria rolled her eyes at that one. Since moving to New York, she'd had several boyfriends but this latest one, Geoff was proving to be very clingy. She'd told him that she didn't think the relationship was going to work, ages before she went to Rosewood but he was still calling as if they were together. The rest of the messages were from work, telling her about upcoming dates and a piece of art that was coming from France in a week.

Finishing her noodles, she put Abigail's bowl in the fridge and made her way to her own bedroom, tiredly crawling under the covers. Before long, the only sounds from within the apartment were the sound of Aria and Abigail breathing in their sleep.


	7. Christmastime

Life began to return to normal in both New York and Rosewood. Abigail returned to her preschool each day and Aria returned to work. Time flew by and before they knew it, Christmas was upon them and there was the morning of the day that Ella and Mike were due to fly in.

"Abby, can you go make sure your bedroom is clean please?" Aria called. They were busy cleaning the apartment, Katy Perry's Roar playing in the background.

"Mommy, I can't reach the duster shelf!" Aria frowned. What was she talking about?

"What duster shelf?" Looking into the kitchen she saw Abigail standing on the bench, trying to reach the shelf where they kept a display of china plates. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to clean, mommy. I can't reach the dusty shelf." Abigail's earlier shout now made sense to Aria but she was still worried about what might happen if Abigail slipped.

"Honey, why don't you let me do that and you go check your room." Abigail's face fell and Aria smiled at her. " It's okay sweetie, I just don't want you to get hurt if you fall."

"Okay mommy." Abigail hopped down and hurried off to her room. In all honesty, their apartment was quite luxury compared to some other apartments nearby. The entry was between the kitchen and dining room and opened up to the living room. Behind the kitchen was a bathroom and the entrance to Abigail's bedroom. Across the living room was Aria's bedroom, bathroom and closet. The fourth wall of the living room opened up to a patio that looked out over Broadway. To Aria and Abigail, it wasn't much. But it was home and they were very proud of it, loving to show it off to their friends when they visited.

Around two, they finally finished and Aria helped Abigail with her coat so they could go an pick up Mike and Ella from the airport. Once Abigail's coat was on, she grabbed her own pink trench coat and zipped up her black knee-high boots, checking that her phone and purse were in her handbag.

"How much longer mommy?" Abigail asked as they rode the elevator down to the ground floor

"Their plane lands in half an hour. But it will probably be about an hour before they come through the gates."

"Why?"

"Because they need to have their passports and things checked and they need to collect their bags. Remember when we flew to Miami?" Abigail nodded. Of course she remembered the trip to Miami. It had been planned through the museum who sent Aria down to pick up a piece of artwork the previous year. At the same time, Aria had taken advantage of the trip and taken Abigail down too.

"Oh. Can we get a hot chocolate while we wait?"

"Of course we can. There's a Starbucks right next to the airport. We'll wait there." The taxi ride to the airport was short and they were soon sitting in the warmth of Starbucks, Abigail sipping on a hot chocolate and Aria drinking a coffee.

"Aria?" Looking around, it took a moment for Aria to figure out where the voice came from but when she did, she struggled to contain a squeal of delight.

"Spencer!"


	8. Mike and Ella Arrive

"Oh my god, it is you." Spencer cried, hurrying over to the table and hugging Aria.

"Oh, it's so good to see you. How are you?"

"I'm great. I'm just passing through. School sent me up to Maine for a bit and I'm on my way home. What about you?"

"I live here. Actually, I'm waiting for my mom and Mike."

"So you're back in contact with them?"

"I never actually lost contact with them, I just didn't see them. But I had my reasons."

"Fair enough, but we have to keep in touch."

"Sure. Are you still living at home? When you're not at school that is?"

"No, I'm actually living with Toby. We rented an apartment just outside Philadelphia."

"Wow. So you two are still going strong, then?"

"Yeah. Is there anyone special for you? I mean, I know Fotz is in the past but it's been four years. Surely…?" Spencer trailed off as Abigail finally made her presence known by a bored groan. "Who's this?"

"Um, this is Abigail. My daughter."

"Your daughter?"

"Yeah. I had her in my freshman year of college."

"Oh my god. It's just hitting me how grown up we all are now. Living away from home, having kids. It's all so different."

"I know. Hey, we've got to be heading off but call me after Christmas? We can get together and catch up."

"Sure. Here, put your number in my phone." Spencer handed Aria her phone and she quickly tapped in her number smiling at her friend before handing it back.

"It was great seeing you again."

"Yeah, you too. Have fun with Mike and your mom."

"I will. Enjoy Christmas in Rosewood." Aria hugged Spencer and took Abigail's hand waving as she led her daughter out of the store and across to the airport.

"Mommy, who was that?"

"That was one of my very old friends."

"Oh. Is she living here too?"

"No, she's living near Rosewood with her family but she's going to visit sometime." Abigail fell silent as they waited by the gates for Ella and Mike. Aria became distracted by a poster on the wall nearby and didn't actually see them but she sure knew about it because Abigail shrieked and ran forward, forcing Aria to let go of her hand.

"Nana! Uncle Mike!" Abigail launched herself at them and Mike caught her, picking her up and covering her face in kisses.

"Hey Abby. Do I get a cuddle too?" Ella asked and Abigail reached across for Ella to take her.

"Hi mom, hey Mike." Aria caught up with them and hugged her brother.

"Hey Ar. How's it going?" Mike asked.

"Not bad. I just ran into Spencer on her way home."

"How is she? I heard she and Toby were living together." Ella interjected, putting Abigail on the ground, much to the little girl's disappointment.

"She's great. Yeah she said she was living with Toby. We didn't have much time to talk but we're going to catch up after Christmas. How about we take this somewhere nicer?"

"Sure. Abby why don't you lead us to the car?" Ella asked and Abigail frowned.

"Car?"

"Yes, how else will we get back to your apartment?" Now Ella was frowning on confusion and looked to Aria for answers.

"We don't have our own car mom. We haven't needed one. Since we live in the city, it's just as easy to take a cab or the subway."

"Oh. So are taking a cab then?" Ella asked, understanding now.

"Yeah. Abby, hold my hand please." Aria asked.

"Can I hold nana's hand?"

"Nana has to carry her bags, sweetie." Abigail sighed but took Aria's hand anyway. The four of them made their way out to the Cab bay and Aria set to work trying to hail a Cab. While Abigail was used to it, Ella and Mike watched in fascination as Aria slipped into her New York mode.

The whole ride back to Aria's was silent, Mike and Ella just taking in the scenery as the cab moved through the crowded streets. Eventually the cab pulled to a stop outside the apartment building and Aria paid the driver while Mike and Ella piled their bags on the sidewalk. Then they made their way inside, Aria and Abigail waving at the doorman on the way and squishing into the elevator.

"How many floors up are you?" Ella asked.

"We're on the fifth floor, technically the top floor." Aria said.

"We can see the Empire State Building from our living room, nana." Abigail stated proudly and Ella laughed.

"Is that so? Well, you'll have to show me everything, won't you?" Abigail nodded and began to bounce on her toes as the elevator slowed to a stop on their floor. Making their way down the hall, Aria fumbled through her handbag to find her keys and quickly unlocked the door. Abigail sprinted inside and did a little spin in the living room.

"This is our home, nana." She said and Ella laughed.

"Well, it's very nice. Can I put my bags down and you can show me around?"

"Sure." Ella and Mike piled their bags in the corner and Abigail dragged them around the whole apartment, showing them everything while Aria set about making cups of coffee in the kitchen before they all sat down in the living room.


	9. Catch Up

"As much as you say it's a crappy little apartment, it's actually really lovely. You've got plenty of space for the two of you and a pretty good view." Ella said later that evening after Abigail had reluctantly gone to bed.

"I guess. I mean, it's nowhere near as nice as some of the apartments on the Upper West Side but we do just fine here." Aria agreed.

"Maybe I should think about moving out. Find my own apartment." Mike mussed and Ella turned to him.

"Don't leave me. I was just getting used to having the two of us." Mike laughed.

"It's okay mom. I don't have enough money saved up to even consider it at the moment."

"Good." Aria smiled and changed the topic.

"So, what are you guys doing tomorrow? I've got one more day at work before Christmas/New Year break and Abby has a Christmas Break-Up at school so it'll be just you two for the day."

"Could we come check out the museum?" Ella asked and Aria shrugged.

"Sure, if you want to. I don't know if I'll be able to talk but you can certainly check it out."

"Mike? What do you think? Do you want to check out the museum?"

"Sure. Then we can have Aria show us all the other stuff over the other days." Aria rolled her eyes at her brother but carried on anyway.

"I'll let them know that you're coming…"

"We can just come with you." Ella interrupted but Aria shook her head.

"I have to be there at seven. I don't expect you to get up early when you're on vacation. I'll leave the address on the kitchen counter for you and Abby can show you anything you need in here."

"You leave her alone?" Ella was surprised.

"Technically no. Mrs Aitkens across the hall looks over frequently and makes sure she's picked up by Sandra for school by eight."

"How long have you been doing that?"

"Since she was three. I used to take her to the museum with me and then take a half-hour break to take her to school. Then Mrs Aitkens suggested the routine we have now. I was sceptical at first but it actually works out fine. And Abigail is so good with it. She knows not to open the door unless she hears the specific knock that Mrs Aitkens and Sandra know." Aria demonstrated, tapping her finger on the coffee table in front of her.

"I don't know if I'd ever have been brave enough to do that with either of you." Ella admitted.

"I know. I didn't know if I could do it at first but it's what works for us."

"Sounds like you two have your lives really sorted here." Mike piped up.

"We do. We had to learn to adapt and we did." Ella shook her head in disbelief. "But enough about me, what's new in Rosewood?"

"Ar, it's a small town. Nothing exciting ever happens." Mike said with a laugh. Aria just looked at him.

"Are you forgetting my entire high school career? One of my best friends murdered, the rest of us tortured endlessly. My whole life was one big scandal."

"You know what I mean."

"I have to agree with Mike, though. Nothing interesting has happened recently. I did bump into Emily a few weeks back, though."

"Oh? I thought you said she moved to LA?"

"She has. She was just visiting her parents. Apparently she's in some big swimming competition in the fall."

"So she's still swimming then?"

"Clearly. I gave her your number and said you'd love to hear from her."

"Thanks. I haven't heard anything yet, but if I know anything about Emily, she'll be so busy training for this competition that she won't have time to call." Aria joked, laughing. Ella was about to say something else when they heard a cry from Aria's room where Abigail was sleeping and Aria sighed.

"What's the matter?" Ella asked.

"She has nightmares sometimes. Clearly tonight is one of those nights." Aria pushed herself off the couch and made her way over and pushed the door open, watching for a moment as Abigail tossed and turned in the small bed in the corner before crossing the room and gently shaking the girl's shoulder to wake her.

"Abby, sweetie, wake up."

"Mommy I had a bad dream." Abigail whispered as she slowly woke up.

"I know. But it's okay. It was only a dream."

"I dreamed that you got taken away from me and I had to live here by myself."

"Sweetie, that's never going to happen, I promise. Go back to sleep, okay? Nana and Uncle Mike will be here when you wake up."

"Okay mommy." Within minutes, she was fast asleep again, her breathing slow and her eyes darting behind closed eyelids. Aria smiled and left the room quietly, heading back into the living room.

"Is she okay?" Ella asked.

"Yeah. She's fine now."

"Does this happen often?"

"Nah. Only sometimes. I don't really think anything of it. I mean, I had nightmares when I was little too."

"Oh yes, I know you did." Ella laughed and Aria grimaced. They were childhood memories she didn't really want to remember.

"I'm actually getting kind of tired. I think I'm ready for bed." Aria said with a yawn and she bent down to pick up the coffee mugs.

"Yeah me too." Mike agreed, getting up and stretching.

"Are you right to sleep on the couch?" Aria asked him.

"Yeah. I'm good. I can survive on the couch for a few days." Mike sent her a grin and disappeared into the bathroom beside Abigail's bedroom.

"Abby's room is all yours." Aria said to Ella and walked over to the kitchen, quickly rinsing out the mugs before putting them into the dishwasher and turning it on. The she returned to the living room and turned off the radio, the room suddenly descending into silence.

"It's so strange." Ella said and Aria looked at her.

"What is?"

"Seeing you here. Living on your own, raising your daughter. I've only ever seen you growing up at home in Rosewood." Aria frowned.

"You saw me in Rosewood with Abby."

"Yes but it was different. You were in an environment that I'd always seen you in. Here, it's unfamiliar. It's a life I haven't seen before."

"Mom, you're getting soppy." Aria said with a laugh and Ella joined in.

"Sorry. You'll understand one day. When Abigail grows up and moves out."

"I don't have to worry about that for a few more years yet, though."

"Take advantage of the time you have with her. She'll grow up so fast."

"I will mom. How about you get some sleep. Abby's bed should be comfortable for you."

"Goodnight, Aria."

"Goodnight mom."


	10. Abby's Christmas

Christmas day dawned bright and early Planning on having a lazy morning, Aria turned off her alarm the night before. She discovered, that she needn't have bothered though because Abigail leapt on top of her at seven.

"Mommy, mommy, wake up! It's Christmas!" Abigail said excitedly, roughly shaking her mother awake.

"Abby, go back to sleep for a while." Aria groaned, trying to roll away from her excited daughter. This year was the first year that Abigail was fully aware of what was going on. In the past she hadn't really paid much attention.

"But mommy, Santa's come." Abigail whined and Aria sighed.

"Fine. Go and wake up Uncle Mike. But be quiet. I'll go and get nana." Abigail nodded and jumped off the bed, running out into the living room. Aria threw off the covers and pulled on a jumper, slipping her feet into her pink fuzzy ugg boots. Going out into the living room she saw that Mike had already been woken and was sitting sleepily as Abigail checked under the Christmas tree for presents.

"Hold on sweetie, let me just go and get nana. Then we'll get some hot chocolate and we'll open presents, okay?" Abigail nodded and went to sit at Mike's feet, letting him play with her hair. Aria crossed the room and knocked on Abigail's door, pushing it open slightly.

"Mom? Wake up, mom. Abby wants to open presents." Ella sighed and sat up with a smile on her face.

"Now you know how we felt when you and your brother did this to us every year, twofold." she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to get some warm drinks and we'll meet back in the living room, okay?"

"Sure. I'll be out in a minute." Aria closed the door and went out into the kitchen. She could hear Mike and Abigail talking quietly, joined by Ella after a few moments. Carrying the drinks out on a tray, she gently set it on the coffee table Mike immediately grabbed his coffee and passed the hot chocolate to Abigail. Shaking her head, Aria handed a coffee to her mother and took her own, slowly sipping the warm liquid.

After practically sculling the whole drink, Abigail ran back to the tree, grabbing three presents from underneath, giving one to each of the three adults.

"These I made at school. There's one for all of you." She said proudly. Aria smiled at her daughter and slowly tore into the paper to reveal a cardboard photo frame, covered in macaroni and glitter. In the middle was a picture taken when they'd visited Rosewood. Looking over, she saw that Mike and Ella had similar ones, both with the same photo.

"they're beautiful, Abby. Thank you. How about I put this one over here?" Aria said, placing the photo on the fake mantle on the wall. Abigail smiled and hugged her. Knowing what she wanted, Aria went over to the tree and pulled out a present for Abigail. "Here you go. Merry Christmas, sweetie."

Excitedly, Abigail ripped open the paper, tossing it to the floor behind her. Her face broke out into a grin when she saw the baby doll she'd been asking for. The rest of the morning went by in much the same way, alternating who got presents until each of the four occupants in the room had a pile of presents. It was just past midday when the last present was unwrapped and Aria insisted that Abigail get dressed. She didn't want to but when Ella suggested she try on her new fairy dress, she eagerly ran into Aria's bedroom.

The afternoon was spent mostly with Ella and Aria in the kitchen working on a roast lamb for dinner while Mike and Abigail were in the living room, testing out Abigail's new toys. There was a lot of laughter from the living room, mixed in with the sounds of Christmas songs playing on the radio and the smells of dinner cooking, giving the whole apartment a homey feel.

By the time darkness began to creep in through the windows, Aria was feeling exhausted and she wasn't even finished the day yet. They sat down at the dining table together and shared the meal with a happy chatter among them.

Straight after dinner, Aria somehow convinced Abigail to go to be, promising that they would play with the new toys again in the morning. Once the little girl was tucked up and fast asleep, Aria joined Mike and Ella in the kitchen to clean up all the dishes from the day's activities.

"Hey Mike, can you go pack up some of the trash in the living room?" Aria asked when they were nearing being done.

"Sure. I'll put Abby's stuff in her room."

"Great. Thanks." Mike disappeared and Ella and Aria finished off drying dishes and putting them away until the kitchen was clean. Then they joined Mike in putting the last of the torn wrapping paper in the bin.

"I have no idea how you guys did this every year. And with eight people in the house." Aria sighed when they were done, collapsing on the couch.

"We took solace in the fact that it was only once a year." Ella said with a laugh. "I'm just about ready to turn in."

"Yeah, I'm stuffed. I just hope Abby is as tired tomorrow morning and doesn't wake us at the crack of dawn again." Mike said with an exaggerated yawn. Aria smiled.

"No, she'll sleep for ages in the morning. Well, I'm heading off. I've had an amazing day today. I hope you guys did too."

"It was wonderful. I was with my two children and my granddaughter." Ella said hugging Aria.

"Yeah me too. It was great to spend Christmas with you again." Mike hugged her as well before she disappeared into her bedroom, barely staying awake long enough to change into her pyjamas.


	11. New Year's Eve

Ella and Mike returned to Rosewood three days after Christmas. Abigail was disappointed that they wouldn't stay to watch the ball drop in Times Square but they promised they would watch it on TV in case she and Aria got on camera. After dropping them at the airport and waving goodbye, they made their way to Trump Tower to catch the sales.

On New Year's Eve, they joined with a group of parents and kids from Abigail's school and had a quick meal at a local café before heading over to Times Square to watch the ball drop. It was extremely crowded and Abigail was slowly becoming frightened of the huge crowd so Aria picked her up and sat her on her shoulders, allowing her to see over the heads of everyone else.

"Mommy, there's a camera!" Abigail cried excitedly, pointing to a spot some distance away.

"How about you wave and then tomorrow we'll ask nana and Uncle Mike if they saw us?" Aria suggested, pulling out her phone and sending a quick message to Ella.

'Abby's seen a camera in Times Square and is waving. ~Aria'

For a while, Abigail was silent, just watching as the people around her excitedly chatted among each other.

"Mommy, how much longer? I'm getting tired." Checking her phone, Aria looked up as much as she could at Abigail

"Only ten more minutes, okay?" Abigail nodded and fell silent again. Time passed slowly as Aria chatted to the other parents around her. Everyone was excited as they waited to wave away 2018 to welcome the new year. Finally, the MC stepped up on the stage, announcing one minute to Midnight. Aria tugged on Abigail's leg to make sure she was awake as the crowd began to count down.

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one! Happy New Year!" Aria shouted along with the rest of the crowd pulling Abigail down to kiss her forehead. Abigail was laughing delightedly, waving her arms in the air. "Happy New Year, Abby." Aria whispered.

"Happy New Year mommy." Abigail replied. Nearly an hour later, the small group finally pushed its way through the crowd and split, each family heading to their respective homes. Abigail had finally fallen asleep where she sat on Aria's hip, face nestled into her mother's neck.


	12. New Year, New Resolution

Ella and Mike had called the next day, claiming to have seen Abigail on the TV even though Aria knew it wasn't true. A few days after, Aria had finally gotten a call from Spencer, inviting her and Abigail to meet up for a reunion of the four high school friends at the end of January. Of course, Aria accepted and on the nineteenth of January, she and Abigail flew down to Rosewood, meeting up with a very excited Mike and Ella at the Philadelphia airport. Two days later, Aria found herself walking into the Rosewood Grille with Abigail, seeing her three best friends sitting at a table near the middle of the room.

"Aria!" Emily was the first to notice her and jumped up, hugging her. "Who's this?" She asked, indicating Abigail.

"My daughter, Abby. It's great to see you again, Em."

"I know, I've missed you." Together they sat down at the table, Abigail taking up a spot beside Aria and shyly greeting the other two girls at the table. Spencer and Hanna smiled at her and told her she was growing up fast.

"Tell me about it. I'm having to buy her new clothes all the time." Aria laughed.

"So, tell us about New York. What's it like living in the city that never sleeps?" Spencer wanted to know.

"You know that's not true, Spence. But I will say it's very different from here. Both you and Em should know what it's like in the big cities."

"Yeah but LA is very Hollywood driven. New York is more of an actual city." Emily told her.

"Whatever." The girls laughed and it felt just like old times again, with the exception of Abigail being there. They chatted about anything and everything for hours, slowly catching up on everyone's lives over the past few years.

"So, I think we should make a pact." Hanna suggested when they were getting ready to leave.

"What sort of pact?" Spencer asked, wary of Hanna's ideas.

"We vow not to lose contact with each other again. I mean, if I do end up moving to New York, I want to be able to contact someone who knows the city." Hanna explained, bringing up a point she'd made earlier.

"Sure. I'm in." Aria agreed, helping Abigail into her coat.

"Me too." Emily agreed and Spencer nodded as well.

"Great. Well, I have to be heading back but it was amazing to see you all again." Hanna said, hugging each of them and hurrying out the door. Spencer followed soon after and then Emily, leaving Aria alone with Abigail. Once they'd paid their share, they headed out the door, walking towards the school to meet Ella.

"Mommy, I like your friends."

"Thank-you sweetie. I like them too." Aria said with a laugh.

"Will they come visit us in New York?"

"Maybe. Did you hear Hanna? She said she might be moving to New York."

"I did. Then she can teach me how to be pretty like her."

"Don't I already teach you how to be pretty?" Aria asked, slightly hurt by her daughter's comment.

"Yes but she is a different pretty. I want to know both."

"Oh. Okay then. Look, there's nana. Want to run over?"

"Yeah!" Abigail let go of Aria's hand, running over to Ella who was standing a few metres away. "Nana, nana!" She cried as she ran over. Ella turned to her, revealing that she had been talking to none other than Ezra Fitz.


	13. Ice-cream Time

Aria swallowed and slowly closed the rest of the distance between her and her mother. Abigail was delightedly hugging Ella while Ezra just watched as Aria came closer.

"Aria. Hi." He said as soon as she was close.

"Hi, Mr. Fitz." It was like being back in high school when she'd struggled to keep from calling him Ezra in front of her friends and family.

"You can call me Ezra. You're not my student anymore." Aria could hear the second meaning laced into his words and smiled slightly.

"Hey honey. Are you done with the girls already?" Ella interjected before Aria had a chance to say anything else.

"Yeah. But we've made a promise to keep in touch. Do you want to go grab some ice-cream before we head home?" Abigail perked up at the mention of ice-cream and grinned at her mother.

"Come on nana, let's go get ice-cream!" She cried, tugging on Ella's hand.

"Alright, jumping bean." Ella laughed and turned back to Ezra.

"I'll make sure I talk to Tamborelli tomorrow."

"Great. Have fun with your girls." Ezra smiled and waved, walking off in the opposite direction. Aria let out an internal sigh and looked at Ella.

"Shall we?"

"Let's go." Abigail took hold of Aria's hand and skipped along between the two women, telling Ella about what she'd done that day. Of course, most of it was just sitting around at the Grille listening to Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer but she managed to make it sound more interesting than it probably had been for her.

"So how much longer are you staying this time?" Ella asked as they sat in the Ice-cream parlour.

"Maybe a day or two. I really only came back for today."

"So can we make tonight family night then?"

"Sure. It'll be fun to teach Abby about all the fun we used to have." Aria said, laughing at the memories of past Montgomery Family Nights.

"Great, oh, I just remembered, I forgot to grab something at the school. I can meet you at home if you'd like."

"That's okay, we can come with you." With that settled, the three of them left the ice-cream parlour and headed back towards the school where Aria and Abigail waited by the front for Ella to return.

"Aria, you're back again." Sighing Aria turned to face him.

"Hi Ezra."

"I thought you went for ice-cream."

"We did. Mom forgot something so we came back."

"Oh. I was going to ask before, do you want to hang out this time around?"

"Umm…" Aria was about to say 'no' but seeing him look at her with those eyes, the ones that had made her heart melt all those years ago stopped her. "Sure. I can't tonight, but maybe tomorrow?"

"Great. Come by my place around six?"

"I'll be there." She shot him a quick smile as she noticed Ella hurrying out of the building.

"See you tomorrow." He smiled too and turned away just as Ella got near.

"What did Ezra want?" She asked, taking Abigail's hand.

"He was just talking. Asking why we were back again." Aria said, squeezing Abigail's hand slightly to let her know that she shouldn't tell Ella what Ezra had really said.


	14. Ezria Date

**Finally, the chapter everyone's been waiting for... Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

At five-thirty the next day, Aria was standing in her old bedroom, staring at the outfits aid on the bed, trying to decide which one to wear. Abigail was downstairs with Mike, apparently making a fort and would be occupied for several hours. Finally, she settled on a pretty purple dress which she added a thick belt and leather jacket to. She slipped her black ankle boots on as well and quickly curled the ends of her hair.

Feeling like she was back in high school again, she'd told her mom that she was meeting Hanna for drinks and asked her to look after Abigail. Of course, Ella had agreed and Aria was set for the evening so she made her way out to Mike's car which he had loaned her for the evening. The familiar drive to Ezra's apartment was quick and she soon found herself knocking on the door of apartment 3B.

"Aria. Come in." Ezra beckoned to her opening the door completely. She stepped inside and was immediately hit with hundreds of memories from the room.

"Hi." She suddenly found herself shy, not knowing what would happen tonight. But she knew one thing; she must not let him know about Abigail.

"So, I cooked for you." He said. It was clear he was feeling just as awkward as she was.

"Just like old times then." She handed him the bottle of wine she'd bought and he smiled, putting it in the fridge. They moved to the couch and sat talking about anything that came to mind, Aria carefully manipulating the truth about Abigail's age. Eventually he served dinner and they ate in a friendly silence, something that Aria was grateful for. It was nice to know that, as much as everything had changed between them, they could still be comfortable with each other.

After dinner, they talked for a bit longer until Aria noticed that it was nearing nine o'clock and she'd promised to be home by nine-thirty. She helped him put the dishes away in the dishwasher and shrugged on her coat.

"It was so good to do this again, Ezra." She admitted as she stood by the door.

"It was. I hope we can stay friends. If you're going to be in Rosewood from time to time, I'd like to meet with you sometimes."

"We'll see. I don't really know how often I'll be here. My life is in New York now and everything really revolves around Abby."

"Aria. You need to make sure you make time for yourself."

"I do. It's just that daytime is Abigail time." She shrugged and stepped closer, allowing him to hug her gently. It was nice to be back in his arms again and she struggled to stop herself from blurting out the truth about Abigail.

"Bye Ezra."

"Goodbye Aria." She slowly walked down the hall, listening to the click as he shut the door behind her and sighing. She'd made it through the evening.

Getting home, it was like she'd walked into the remnants of a war-zone. Pillows and sheets lay everywhere and the furniture was all over the place. She could just see Mike's feet poking out from under a pile of blankets and she was pretty sure Ella was somewhere on the other side of the room, also buried in pillows and blankets. However there was no sign of Abigail. Aria knew though, that she was probably hiding somewhere, having heard the car pull up.

"Mom? Mike? Are you alive under there?" Aria called, a teasing note in her voice. She heard a muffled reply from the pile under which Mike was hidden and she laughed, picking her way across the room to uncover him.

"Thanks." He grinned at her when he was free from the tangle of blankets and together they ventured over to Ella, rescuing her from her own tangle.

"Where's Abby?" Aria asked.

"Er, under here somewhere." Ella said looking around, trying to coax Abigail out with a note of worry in her voice. They heard a giggle from somewhere across the room and carefully picked their way across, tossing blankets and pillows aside as they went. Eventually they found her hidden behind the couch, a single blanket over her head.

"Mommy, we had fun tonight." She announced.

"I can see that. How about you head up to bed and you can tell me all about it in a minute, okay?" Aria laughed and she nodded, hugging Mike and Ella goodnight before she disappeared up the stairs.

"How do you survive at home with her all the time?" Ella asked, beginning to pick up the blankets.

"She doesn't do this at home. Ever since she met you, she saves up her crazy streak for when you're around." Aria said with a laugh.

"You could have warned us." Mike whined.

"Maybe, but it was more fun to watch you learn like this." Aria had to duck as he sent a pillow flying her way. It took a good half hour before the living room was back to normal and they made their way upstairs to bed, finding Abigail already sprawled out on the roll away bed in Aria's room fast asleep.


	15. Unexpected Guest

Aria and Abigail returned to New York the following day to find a snow storm had hit and was only expected to get worse. They made a rush trip to the local grocery store to stock up in case they were snowed in for a few days.

"Mommy, I thought you said that man was your teacher?" Abigail asked as they sat huddled in the living room watching TV together later that evening.

"He was. Why?"

"How come you went on a date with him?" Aria sighed. She knew this would be a conversation she would have to have but she hadn't expected it so soon.

"Because we became friends after he was my teacher. It wasn't a date like a boyfriend and girlfriend. It was just two friends having fun."

"Do I get to come along one day if you see him again?"

"Maybe. But I won't be seeing him again until we go back to Rosewood and I don't know when that will be." Abigail was about to say something else when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Going over, Aria didn't recognise the person looking through the peephole.

"Abby, go sit in your room." Aria whispered and Abigail nodded. It was something that Aria had drilled into her a thousand times. If someone Aria didn't know knocked at the door, Abigail was to hide in her room, taking Aria's phone with her in case something happened. Once Abigail's door was shut, Aria opened the front door cautiously. "Can I help you?" The person turned around and Aria found herself looking into the face of Toby Cavanaugh.

"Aria, I need your help." Upon recognising her friend's boyfriend, she willingly opened the door completely, leaning on the door frame.

"Sure. Come on in." She stood aside and allowed him in, showing him to the living room. "Abby, you can come out." She called and Abigail appeared at the door, stopping when she saw the strange man with her mom.

"Mommy, who is that?"

"This is one of my friends from Rosewood, Toby." Aria introduced.

"Hi Abigail. I've heard a lot about you." Toby bent down to her level, offering her his hand.

"How do you know me?" Abigail asked, still wary.

"Your mommy's friend Spencer is my girlfriend. She told me about you after you came to visit in Rosewood last week." At the mention of Spencer, Abigail seemed to lose all nervousness and hurried across the room to hug him. Aria laughed as Toby hugged her back.

"Abby, can you go and start making some coffee for me?" Abigail nodded and hurried out to the kitchen. "So, you said you needed my help."

"I do. I was going to talk to Hanna but I think she'd spill the secret and Emily's too far away."

"What is this big secret?" Aria gestured for him to sit beside her on the couch.

"Well, you know Spencer and I are living together and we're still going strong. I think we're ready to take the next step."

"Are you saying…?"

"Yeah, I'm going to ask her to marry me." He sent a small smile in her direction and she grinned.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy for you!"

"I knew you would be. But that's the easy part. Other than the fact that I want to do it in a special way, I'm stumped for ideas."

"Do you have a ring yet?"

"Yeah, it's a family heirloom."

"She'll love that. Alright, now we need to plan the where." She leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes in thought. "What about that spot overlooking Rosewood that she always talks about? Where you took her one night to distract her from A?"

"She told you guys about that?"

"Yeah. It was all she talked about for days."

"Wow. I didn't realise it meant that much to her."

"Well it does. Makes it seem like the perfect place doesn't it?"

"It does. Alright, so I take her up there for a moonlight picnic and, what, just ask her?"

"No, tell her how much she means to you. Remind her of all the good things. Make her feel full of love and then ask her." She opened her eyes again at the sound of Toby laughing gently. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's a good idea."

"I thought so. Do you have an idea of when you want to do it?"

"Well, it's our anniversary in a few weeks. I thought it would be the perfect time to do it then."

"Sounds good to me."

"Mommy, coffee is ready!" Abigail skipped back into the room and Aria shot a quick smile at Toby before hurrying to collect said coffee. When she returned, she and Toby continued their conversation, finalising details and catching up a little.


	16. Spencer's News

Aria didn't have to wait long before she got an excited phone call from Spencer telling her that Toby had proposed. Spencer spent nearly an hour telling Aria all the details of what he had done and Aria had to smile, noting that he had taken some of her advice.

"So have you made any plans yet?" Aria asked when she could finally get a word in.

"Well, we've decided to have it in June."

"June? As in this year? Isn't that awfully soon?" Aria was surprised.

"Yes but we have other factors to compensate for now as well." As usual, Spencer was being cryptic and Aria rolled her eyes.

"What other factors?"

"He wasn't the only one with a surprise that night. I'm pregnant."

"Oh my god! Are you serious?"

"Yes, I found out a few days before he proposed. I'm about a month along so by June I'll be nearing six months."

"This is amazing. You know, if you ever need any tips on pregnancy or parenting, I'm only a phone call away."

"I'll keep that in mind, although I think my experience will be slightly different to yours."

"Of course, but I can still help with the basics." They ended the conversation not long after so that Spencer could spill the news to Hanna and Emily as well.

"Mommy, what's so exciting?" Abigail looked out from her room, having heard her mother's excitement.

"Spencer is getting married and having a baby."

"Oooh, can I play with the baby?"

"Not at first, sweetie. It will be too little to play with when it's born but when it's a little bit older, of course you can play with it. "

"And do we get to go to the wedding? I want to see the pretty dresses."

"I'm sure we will go to the wedding. And maybe you can wear a pretty dress too."

"Yay!" Abigail did a little dance before disappearing into her room again and Aria could hear her going through her cupboard, looking for something. Before long she appeared again, dressed in a pink Disney princess dress, parading around the room as if she was indeed a princess.

"Very pretty, Abby."

"Thank-you mommy. I'm going to be a princess when I grow up, did you know?"

"No I didn't. But thank-you for telling me. Will you live in a castle?"

"Yes. And you and nana and Uncle Mike can live there too."

"Are you sure there'll be enough room for all of us?" Aria pretended to be concerned but Abigail laughed.

"Silly mommy. It's a castle. There'll be heaps of room. And we can have balls in a ballroom and a thousand servants making food all the time."

"Sounds like you have this all planned out."

"I do. There'll be sparkly towers and a pink flag that waves from the top. A big moat will go around the castle to protect us from the bad guys."

"At least we'll be safe."

"Yes, and guards will ride horses along the wall and fire flaming arrows at bad guys who try to come in to the castle." Aria had to laugh at that but quickly stopped when she sae Abigail's face fall.

"Oh Abby, I'm sorry. You can have guards on horses." Abigail smiled again and went on for a good half an hour of her plans to become a princess, with Aria listening intently.


	17. Eventful Times

Time seemed to speed up as several events happened over the course of the next few months; Abigail's sixth birthday, just days before they headed to Rosewood for Spencer and Toby's wedding, of course the wedding and also a surprise New York visit from Emily and Maya during April.

Spencer and Toby's wedding was best described as a fairy-tale. They held it in the backyard of the Hastings house, with the old barn as a backdrop to the altar. It had been covered in fairy lights and vines of flowers hung from several wires strung across the yard. The chairs were carved intricately and painted in a vintage style. Every guest looked beautiful and Spencer's three bridesmaids, Hanna, Aria and Emily looked gorgeous too. They wore simple strapless azure dresses that ended just above the knee and a silver sash around the waist. They had silver heels and jewellery to accessorise and their hair was twisted into simple updos.

Spencer's dress was perfect, a tight bodice that shimmered when she walked from the thousands of little beads embroidered on it and a long skirt that flared out from her waist, showing off her small baby bump perfectly. She had her hair twisted into a fancy half-up, half-down style with curls floating around her face.

Aria had been overjoyed when Spencer asked if Abigail would like to be the flower girl and of course had said, explaining quickly about the little girl's dream of being a princess. Because of this, Spencer had allowed the girl to wear a small tiara in her hair and in her blue dress, she did indeed look like a princess. Abigail had spent the first hour of the reception telling Hanna and Emily about her plans of being a princess and Aria had sent over several apologetic glances to her friends.

Abigail's birthday seemed to Aria almost as big an event as the wedding because she had organised a party in Central Park with all of Abigail's friends as well as several families from Rosewood. She spent hours making sure that the Rosewood families would arrive on time and be situated in hotels for their stay and slaved for hours over the stove in the kitchen making hundreds of cookies and cupcakes and a huge pink birthday cake. Ella offered to come a week early to help but Aria refused, saying that it was her job as Abigail's mother to do the work.

For over six months, Aria didn't think once about Ezra and the date they'd had in January. Life had taken over and it had been pushed to the back of her mind but a phone call in late July brought it right up to the front again. She'd been in the middle of making lunch when the landline phone began to ring. Having her hands covered in flour, she called out to Abigail to answer it. Seeing as she only gave her landline number to work or people that weren't part of her social life, she didn't think it would be an interesting call.

"Mommy, it's a man asking for you." Abigail said, coming in and holding the phone out. Aria sighed and wiped her hands on her apron, taking the phone.

"Hello, Aria speaking."

"Aria, it's Ezra."

"Ezra? How did you get this number? I don't think even my mom has it."

"I looked you up in the Yellow Pages."

"Oh. You could have just asked my mom for my number."

"And say what? I couldn't tell her why I wanted it and it would be creepy to say I was just checking up on you."

"I guess, anyway, what's up?"

"Oh, I'm visiting New York next week and I was wondering if you'd like to meet up?"

"Um, sure. It'll have to be either a lunch thing or dinner because I'm working every day next week. I've had to cover some extra shifts because I've missed a few with my trips to Rosewood."

"Fair enough. How about I check when I'm doing things and get back to you?"

"Sure. Let me just give you my mobile number. If I'm out and about you'll be able to contact me still." She waited as he rummaged around for a piece of paper and a pen and then told him her number. They chatted for a few more minutes before Aria apologised and hung up, having to get back to making lunch because Abigail was starting to complain about being hungry.

* * *

**A/N: Just to clarify, Abigail is born in early July. That means that she was four when she first met Mike and Ella, then turned five not long after that visit to Rosewood as Mike mentions that it is June at the time. Then she turns six just after Spencer and Toby's wedding which was in June, 2018.**

**I am loving the responses to this story and I love waking up each day to find several new reviews. Over the next few weeks, I may not be posting as much because I'll be busy with my school's production of Grease and preparing for my final year 12 exams in October/November. But I will try to get Ezra knowing about Abigail before I have to stop. **

**Keep reading and reviewing :)**


	18. Autumnal Storms

The next week started off normal, Abigail going to school and Aria going to work. But on Tuesday, it was a little different than normal. Instead of being picked up by Aria, Abigail went to her friend Skyler's house after school and Aria had some time by herself to get ready to meet Ezra. They had decided to go to dinner at one of the little restaurants on Broadway and then take a walk around the local streets.

The weather had taken an unusual turn and was predicted to be fairly cold for the next few days so Aria eventually decided on black leggings and a long red wool sweater-dress. Her hair curled gently around her face and a black trench-coat to keep her warm. At Six she locked her front door and made her way down stairs, humming gently to herself.

"Miss Montgomery, are you sure you want to go out tonight? It looks like a storm is about to hit and I would hate to see you hurt." The doorman said, gesturing to the darkened sky just visible outside the door.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed the weather had changed so much." Aria's mind was beginning to race. Obviously, the weather meant that plans with Ezra must change. But what did it mean for Abigail? The little girl had only spent one night away from home without Aria and that had been in Rosewood where she was looked after by Ella.

"Did you have plans tonight?"

"Yes. I was supposed to meet an old friend for dinner. But I don't think I can now. Abby's at a friend's house and I don't want her first official sleep-over to be during a storm."

"Why not pick her up and bring your friend here?"

"I think I'll do that." Aria smiled at him and quickly pulled out her phone, dialling Ezra's number.

"Hello?" Ezra answered after the first ring.

"Ezra, I'm so sorry but we have to change our plans. The weather's turning worse and Abby's never had a proper sleep-over before. I was thinking I'll go pick her up and you can join us in our apartment."

"Sure. Do you want me to pick up some take-out on my way?"

"Yeah, just some Chinese or something for me. Abby has a leftover meal that she can have. I'll be home in about an hour."

"Perfect. I'll be there." Aria smiled and hung up, quickly scrolling through her contacts to find Skyler's mum's number, waving to the doorman as she hurried out the door.

"Hello, Chloe speaking."

"Chloe, hi, it's Aria."

"Oh hi Aria, how's your date going?"

"We've had a change of plans so I'm on my way to pick up Abby, is that okay?"

"Yeah sure. I'll start getting her to finish up what she's doing."

"Great, I'll be there in about twenty-minutes."

"I'll see you then." Aria hurried down the busy streets, dodging out of the way of other people as they pushed their way through and hurried on their way. The storm clouds continued to gather and it wasn't long before big fat droplets of rain began to fall, splashing in irregular patterns on the sidewalk.

Aria moved towards the side, trying to stay under the covered part of the walkway as much as possible to avoid the rain. She got several looks and people shouting insults at her but her years of experience in dealing with angry New Yorkers came in handy as she just ignored it.

She arrived at her destination in less than the twenty minutes she thought she'd take but made her way up to the seventh floor anyway, knocking on the door of apartment 7D.

"Hi Aria, come on in." Chloe answered the door and Aria could immediately hear sounds of Abigail and Skyler talking and laughing about something.

"Hey, I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be sorry, things happen." Chloe laughed and led her into the living room where Abigail and Skyler were animatedly talking about something from school.

"Abby, time to go honey." Aria called and Abigail pouted but stood up.

"See you tomorrow Skyler."

"Bye Abby, thanks for coming over." The girls hugged and Abigail picked her bag up off the floor, moving over to hug Aria

"Hi mommy."

"Hey sweetie, did you have fun?"

"Uh-huh. But I want to stay longer." Aria laughed.

"Maybe next time. But we have to be going now, okay?"

"Okay mommy."

"Thanks for looking after her Chloe."

"It's no problem, any time." Aria smiled as Chloe closed the door behind them and she led Abigail to the elevator.

"Mommy, how come I couldn't stay longer?"

"Because my friend and I decided to change our plans and we're having dinner at our apartment. We thought it might be nice if you were there too." Aria decided to catch a cab home because the rain had started coming down even harder and she didn't want to be dripping wet when Ezra arrived.

When they got home, Aria gave the apartment a quick once-over, thanking the stars that she was a naturally neat person and kept her home mostly clean at all times. Abigail was in her room, putting her things away when the doorbell rang and came running out, eager to answer the door. Aria laughed and helped her reach the handle.

"Hello, Abigail. Where's your mommy?" Ezra asked when he saw Abigail appear in the opening doorway, a note of surprise clear in his voice. Aria laughed and stepped out from behind the door.

"I'm right here. I just got beaten to the door."

"Ah. Well, I come bearing gifts." He raised his hand, indicating a brown paper bag and Aria pulled the door open all the way, pulling Abigail with her.

"Good, I wouldn't have let you in otherwise."

"Too bad then." They laughed and Aria shut the door behind them and leading Ezra to the living room.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'm just going to heat up something for Abby." He nodded and she hurried into the kitchen, rummaging through the freezer until she found a frozen spaghetti meal from a few days before. She put it onto a plate and into the microwave, waiting until it was done before heading back out into the living room to find Ezra staring intently at the back of Abigail's head as the little girl watched an ad on the TV.

"Here, Abby. Can you sit at the table for me?" Abigail nodded and took her dinner over to the table, facing away from her mother and Ezra. "Ezra?" Aria clicked her fingers by his ear when he didn't look at her after a moment.

"You said three."

"Huh?"

"When I saw her for the first time, you said she'd just turned three." Aria swallowed. She didn't like where this was going.

"Yeah, and?"

"If she was three then, how is she six now? It's barely two years later."

"Why do you say she's six?" Aria tried to confuse him.

"She was telling me about her party and I asked her how old she had turned."

"Oh."

"Aria, is she six?"

"Yes. She is."

"And her birthday is in late July?"

"Yes." Aria knew her game was up and slumped down into the armchair, closing her eyes.

"Then that would mean she was conceived just before your graduation."

"…Ezra I…"

"Hold on. If she was conceived before your graduation, unless you cheated, that would make her mine?" For the first time since she'd come back into the living room he looked at her.

"…"

"What?"

"I said yes. She's yours."


	19. You're Better Off With A Really Good Lie

He just stared at her after she admitted what she had hidden from him for six years. Abigail still sat at the table, apparently oblivious to what was going on around her. Not wanting to look him directly in the eye, Aria glanced around her, looking at anything but him.

"I have a daughter?"

"Yes."

"You were pregnant when you left, and you didn't tell me?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god."

"Ezra, I'm so sorry. I just…when I found out I panicked. People were just starting to get used to the idea of us being together and I didn't want to jeopardise that-"

"Aria, I just need some time, I'm sorry." With that, he abruptly got up and hurried out of the apartment, leaving Aria sitting in the living room, staring after him.

"Mommy, where did he go?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know sweetie. Have you finished your dinner?"

"Yes mommy."

"Good girl. Go and put your dishes away, I think it's almost bedtime, what do you think?"

"Okay." Abigail disappeared into the kitchen to put her dishes away and then skipped into her room. Aria followed soon after to help her get ready for bed. Within half an hour, Aria was gently kissing her daughter goodnight and turning out the lights. Her appetite gone, she packed up the untouched food that Ezra had brought over and put it in the fridge before heading off to her own bedroom and crawling under the covers.

Had she done the right thing all those years ago, keeping her pregnancy a secret from everyone? Sure her mom and brother had accepted it when they found out as had her friends but none of them knew who the father was yet. She still hadn't seen their reactions to Abigail's father.

Aria's mind was working at full speed and it took hours before she finally fell asleep, several tears spilling from her eyes as she did.


	20. Telling Abby

All week, Aria tried calling and texting Ezra, wanting to talk to him and try to explain her reasoning but he was ignoring her. She knew she was fast running out of time to talk to him face-to-face as he was due back in Rosewood in two days and she was beginning to get desperate.

"Ezra, it's me again. Look, I know you're confused about all this but if you just give me a chance, I can try to explain it. Please call me back." Aria sighed as she hung up the phone for the twentieth time that day.

"Mommy, why do you keep calling him?" Abigail asked, looking up from the colouring book she was working on.

"Abby, come here."

"Why?"

"Just because, sweetie. I want to tell you something."

"Okay." Abigail put down her pencils and climbed up onto Aria's lap.

"You know how it's always been just the two of us? We've never had anyone else?"

"Mrs. Aitkens is here."

"Yes, but I mean, all your friends have a daddy at home, don't they."

"Yes. Well, Jimmy doesn't but he says his daddy is in another country fighting a big war."

"He is indeed. But have you ever thought about why you don't have a daddy?"

"No. I don't need a daddy. I've got you."

"Without a daddy, you wouldn't be here, sweetie. Every mommy needs a daddy to have a baby."

"I don't get it."

"Don't worry, that part isn't important. The point is, you do have a daddy. He just didn't know you were his little girl." Aria pushed Abigail's hair back from her face as the little girl looked at her, clearly confused.

"How did he not know?"

"You know how I told you that babies grow in their mommy's tummies for a while before they come into the world?"

"Yes, that's how I came to the world."

"It is. Well, when I first found out that you were in my tummy, I got scared. Instead of telling anyone, I ran away. I didn't tell your daddy or my friends or nana. I just left Rosewood and came to New York so I could be by myself."

"Why?"

"I was scared. Most people don't have a baby when they're nineteen. I should have stayed in Rosewood and told somebody. But I made the choice to run away and not face my fears."

"Mommy, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because, when we went to Rosewood for the first time last year, when you met nana, you also met your daddy. But he didn't find out you were his daughter until a little while ago."

"So I have a daddy?"

"Of course. Everyone does."

"But I have a daddy that I can see.?"

"Yes. I'm just not sure how he feels at the moment. I think he was angry with me when he found out that I hadn't told him."

"But doesn't he want to see me?"

"I don't know honey. Maybe he's so angry that he doesn't want to see you or me."

"I hope not."

"I hope not too." They fell silent after that, both thinking over their conversation until Abigail piped up again.

"Mommy, thank-you for telling me. I think you're a very special mommy and I love being just the two of us, but if my daddy wants to be around too then I would still be happy."

"Oh Abby, you're so sweet." She was about to say more when her phone began to ring. Seeing Ezra's name flash onto the screen, she grabbed it and hurried into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Ezra, I'm so-"

"Aria, can we meet up? I don't want to do this over the phone." He cut her off.

"Um, sure. Just tell me when and where."

"Central Park? In about an hour?"

"Sure. I'll be there."


	21. Six Years

Aria left Abigail with Mrs Aitkens, hurrying out of their building to get to Central Park on time. In the end, she needn't have hurried, getting there with ten minutes to spare so she bought a coffee and sat on a bench, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Aria." Her head jerked up at the sound of Ezra's voice and she felt a small smile play at the corner of her lips.

"Ezra."

"Okay, I'm not really sure what I want to say or do right now. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all."

"How about I just talk then?"

"Sure."

"Look, I never meant to hurt you. I just…when I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified of people finding out. Nobody knew anything and I used that to my advantage. After graduation, I just left everyone. My parents, my brother, my friends. You. I guess I somehow convinced myself that I didn't need help. I could make it on my own." She paused for a minute, taking a breath and putting her thoughts back in order. "At college, I quickly fell into a routine and life in Rosewood seemed so far away. I'd always planned on coming back after Abby was born. I wanted everyone to know about her. But life in college got away and before I knew it, Abby was a year old, then two years."

"But you could have called. Or texted. Or emailed. Why didn't you?"

"It didn't seem like something to reveal over the phone. Believe me, if I could go back, I wouldn't have run away. I would stay in Rosewood and tell everyone."

"I'm sorry, I just, I don't…I have a six year old daughter that I didn't know about."

"Ezra, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't. I don't want to hear it. The one thing I had a right to know, you kept from me. For six years!" His voice began to rise and Aria reached out to calm him down.

"Ezra…"

"Just leave me alone, Aria. I can't believe you would do something like this. I thought you loved me."

"I did. Do. Please, just try to see things my way."

"Why? Give me a reason why I should."

"For Abby."

"Abby? Aria, until the other day, she was just a little girl who happened to be your daughter. I've never even had a moment to think of her as mine."

"But…"

"No. I don't care, Aria. Just let me go. I'll see you around Rosewood." With that, he turned sharply on his heel and stalked away, leaving Aria sitting shocked on the park bench looking after him. She had no idea how long she sat there for, just watching the space where he had disappeared but eventually she slowly stood up and began the trek home, picking up Abigail from Mrs Aitkens' on the way.

"Mommy, how did it go?"

"I don't know. I don't think he wants to see us anymore."

"Oh." Abigail fell silent and just watched as her mother went over to her bedroom and disappeared inside.


	22. Kiss, Kiss

After Ezra left, Aria tried to get back to life as it had been but she kept thinking about what might have happened. Would she and Ezra still be together if she had told him she was pregnant? Was there a possibility that he would have accepted it if she had come out straight away and told him when she first saw him in Rosewood? Would he tell her mother now? Or her friends? Will he ever want to meet Abigail properly?

She cried herself to sleep nearly every night, only to be woken a few hours later by Abigail knocking at her bedroom door, wanting to comfort her. Ella called several times a day, wanting to know what had Aria so upset but Aria could barely bring herself to talk about it to herself, let alone tell her mom.

"Mommy, can we visit nana?" Abigail asked one morning as the two of them walked down the road from school. At this point, it was about a month after Ezra left and Aria was still not sure what to do.

"Maybe. Is there a special reason?"

"No. I just want to see her and Uncle Mike."

"Oh. Well, we'll see. I don't think we're very welcome in Rosewood right now."

"Why?" Aria sighed and looked around for a place to sit down.

"Do you remember me telling you about your daddy?"

"Yes."

"Well, your daddy lives in Rosewood and he has a lot of friends there too. I know now that he's not happy with me and my guess is his friends won't be happy with me either."

"So?"

"So, if half the town doesn't like me, it'll be a very uncomfortable visit."

"But didn't you live there? What about your friends?"

"What about them?"

"Wouldn't they stand up for you? You always told me that my real friends would be there for me no matter what." Aria smiled and leaned over to kiss Abigail's forehead.

"I know honey. I did say that but this is a bit more complicated okay? There's a lot of history in Rosewood that not everybody is ready to deal with yet and if I go back with half of them hating me, it wouldn't be good."

"Oh."

"Abby, listen to me. I love you very much and so do nana and Uncle Mike. I'm sure that your daddy will love you one day too. We just need to give it some time."

"I love you too mommy." Together they stood up and began the walk back to their apartment, Abigail skipping along happily, pointing out various things along the way. They were nearly back at the apartment building when Aria noticed a familiar head of scruffy black hair. She instantly slowed her pace, wanting to collect her thoughts before she talked to him. Abigail didn't notice and kept skipping until she just about ran into him.

"Whoa there…Oh, hi Abigail. Aria."

"Ezra." They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Abigail tugged on Aria's hand.

"Mommy, can we go in?" Aria quickly grabbed the apartment key from her purse, handing it to the little girl.

"Here. Go upstairs and you can start getting out ingredients for spaghetti, okay? I'll be there soon." Abigail nodded and pushed the door open, allowing Aria to wave to the doorman to let him know Abigail was going up. He nodded and smiled politely at Abigail, leading her to the elevator.

"So…" Aria let her word hang in the air, turning back to Ezra.

"I'm sorry. It all just happened so fast. I woke up in the morning without a child and then by the evening, I had a six year old daughter."

"No, it should be me apologising. I should never have kept it a secret from you or anyone for so long. I was stupid to think that everyone would be okay with finding out now."

"Aria, this past month, I've done a lot of thinking and I want to get to know Abigail. As her father. But only if you want me to." Aria just stared at him for a long moment, her eyes searching his for an answer to her silent question. Then she quickly pushed up onto her toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.


	23. Dinnertime

It took a moment for Ezra to realise what was happening but when he did, he began to respond to her kiss eagerly, leaving the two of them in a quickly intensifying make-out session in the middle of the street. Eventually they pulled apart and just stood there, grinning at each other.

"So…"

"So…" Aria laughed and reached down to grab his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Do you want to come up and join us for dinner? You can get to know Abby if you'd like."

"I'd love to." He smiled and allowed her to lead him into the building and up to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors opened, Aria immediately noticed that her apartment door was open. Her heart leapt into her mouth and she let go of Ezra's hand, rushing down the hall, all sorts of thoughts going through her head.

"Abigail!" She cried, running through the door, stopping short at the sight she saw. Abigail was standing in the kitchen on her little stool so she could reach the bench. Behind her, Mrs Aitkens was reaching up into the high cupboard. Both turned to look at her at her sudden appearance.

"Aria? Is everything okay?" Mrs Aitkens asked, putting the can she'd been getting on the bench.

"Oh. Yes. I just saw the door open and immediately freaked." She laughed a little to lighten the mood, feeling Ezra come up behind her.

"Sorry. Abby here just knocked on my door asking for my help. I was only planning on being here for a second so I didn't close the door but we got distracted."

"That's okay. I guess I let my mind go immediately to that horrible place."

"I've done that. Every mom does, especially if you're a single mom." Aria smiled gratefully.

"Mommy, I'm making dinner for us!" Abigail said proudly, showing Aria the pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove.

"I can see that sweetie. Is it okay if we have mommy's friend join us for dinner?" For the first time, Abigail noticed Ezra standing behind her mother and she jumped down off the stool.

"Sure mommy." Taking the hint that she was no longer needed, Mrs Aitkens ruffled Abigail's hair and smiled at her.

"Well, have fun tonight, Abby. Take care Aria." With that, she disappeared out the door and down the hall.

"Sorry about that, Ezra." Aria apologised, turning to face him.

"That's okay. I'm sure I would have done the same thing in your position." She smiled at him.

"Abby, how about you go into the living room and choose a movie to watch later?" Abigail jumped up and down excitedly before running off.

"Do you want any help in here?" Ezra offered as Aria began to put order back to her kitchen.

"I think I'm good. You could go talk to Abby if you want. Dinner won't be much longer."

"Sounds good to me." He kissed her cheek gently and went off in the direction Abby had disappeared.


	24. Boyfriend?

Ezra didn't stay in New York much longer after that. He had only come up to talk to her and had to be heading back to Rosewood but he promised to keep in touch often.

"Mommy, is he your boyfriend?" Abigail asked a few days after he'd left when she and Aria were watching some TV after school.

"What?" Aria was shocked. She didn't realise Abigail even knew what that meant.

"That man who came to visit the other day. I saw him kiss your cheek in the kitchen and when we were in Rosewood, uncle Mike was telling me about his girlfriend and how he kisses her on the cheek. I was thinking that maybe he was your boyfriend." Abigail explained and Aria struggled not to laugh.

"I'm not sure, sweetie. We've been friends for a long time but there's a lot we need to talk about before we decide on anything."

"Do you want him to be though?" Aria paused, thinking it over before she answered.

"I think I do. But it's not that easy. There's a lot we have to work out."

"Like what?" Aria sighed, not wanting to get into this with Abigail.

"Things you don't need to know about just yet." Abigail pouted but when Aria promised her an ice-cream when they finished dinner that night, she dropped the subject, turning back to the TV.


	25. Knock At The Door

With Christmas rearing its head around the corner again, Aria had to decide whether she and Abigail were going to go down to Rosewood or stay in New York. Her decision was made for her on a particularly cold November morning when she received a call from Emily. At the time she was in the kitchen of her apartment helping Abigail make pancakes when the phone rang.

"Okay, don't cook them yet. Wait until I get off the phone." Aria told the little girl who nodded and hurried off into her room. "Hello?" She picked up the phone, resting it between her shoulder and ear so she could start cleaning up the kitchen a little.

"Aria? It's Emily."

"Oh, hey Emily. How are you?"

"I'm great. I'm actually calling to ask you a favour."

"Sure. Ask away."

"Well, you know Maya and I adopted a little boy a couple months ago."

"Yeah."

"We were wondering, would it be okay if we spent Christmas in New York with you guys?"

"Uh, sure. I don't think we'd have room for you guys to stay here but you're welcome to crash with us on Christmas Day."

"That's okay. Actually, we're thinking about leaving LA eventually."

"Really? But isn't that where the best swim team is?" There was a moment of silence on Emily's end of the line. "Em?"

"Yeah, I uh, I kinda hurt my shoulder a few weeks ago and the doctors don't think it'll heal in time for the next big comp. And let's face it, I'm getting too old to be swimming competitively now anyway."

"Seriously? Isn't there people on the team that are, like, thirty or something?"

"Yeah but they've done their time too. They don't get the world records anymore. I mean, I was breaking records in high school already. My body is tired and I can't keep it up much longer."

"Oh. Well, we're still proud of you and we'll support you in whatever you decide to do next."

"You sound like my parents."

"Sorry."

"It's cool. So anyway, as I was saying, we're thinking of leaving LA and moving a bit closer to Rosewood. And since you're in New York, we thought 'why not check it out?'"

"Sounds good to me."

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Abigail reappeared and pouted at her mother.

"Is that Abby?" Emily asked, having heard.

"Yeah. Do you want to say hi?"

"Sure." Aria passed the phone over to Abigail.

"Abby, it's my friend Emily, you remember her?" She said as Abigail took the phone and the little girl nodded

"Hello Emily….I'm good. Mommy and I are going shopping this afternoon…uh-huh. She says I can help choose what we're having for dinner tomorrow…okay…bye Emily." Abigail smiled and gave the phone back to Aria.

"I'm back."

"She's so cute Aria."

"I know. I just hope she stays that way."

"She will. Look, I've got to go but I'll call again in a few days to talk about what we're doing."

"Okay. Talk to you then."

"Bye." Aria hung up the phone and turned back to Abigail.

"Well, are you ready for pancakes?"

"Yes mommy." Abigail clapped her hands and skipped over to the frying pan, giggling in anticipation.

* * *

Later that day, after their shopping trip they sat in the living room watching TV when Abigail turned to Aria.

"Mommy, when are we going to see your friend again?"

"Which one, sweetie?"

"The one you kissed outside our building."

"I'm not sure."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"I like him. He tells good stories."

"Well, I like him too. And I hope we do get to see him again soon." A sudden knock at the door interrupted their conversation and Aria got up to answer it. What she didn't expect was who she saw standing in the hallway outside their apartment.

"Aria, thank-god I found you, I need your help."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, who do you think is at the door? Here's a clue: It's a familiar character from the show who hasn't been in this story yet...let me know who you think it might be :) Also, I'm stuck with what to call Emily and Maya's little boy. Normally I find it really easy to name characters but I'm stuck here. Suggestions welcome :)**


	26. What Really Happened

The day of graduation dawned bright and early. For the seniors of Rosewood High, it was to be a day of celebration and relief. Well, for all but one.

Aria Montgomery had a choice to make. One that would affect the rest of her life. She had found out several days earlier that she was pregnant and now had to decide what she was going to do. There were several options for her to choose. She could leave Rosewood with her scholarship to NYU, have the baby and give it up for adoption and no-one would ever know. Or she could reveal the secret to her friends and family and possibly risk giving up her scholarship. Or she could take the scholarship, have the baby and raise it by herself in New York.

While Aria pondered her decision, her classmates got ready for the ceremony that was to be held that afternoon, each one with a thousand thoughts running through their head. When mid-day came around, the school yard became filled with students and parents milling around, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Aria. Could I talk to you for a moment?" Aria turned to find Ezra coming up to her and smiled apologetically at her friends.

"Sure." She followed him down to his classroom and waited to hear what he had to say.

"Aria, after today, you're going to New York. I've got to stay here in Rosewood. Can we make this work?" Aria sighed. This was it. This was the moment that she would make her choice. Before she could even register what she was doing, she heard herself talk.

"Ezra, you know how much I love you. And I know how much you love me. But with spending so much time apart, I don't know how it can work."

"So we're done?" Aria could see him trying to conceal tears as she fought to hide her own.

"Yeah." With that she turned on her heel and walked out, letting the tears spill over as she approached her friends.

"Aria, what happened?" Hanna cried.

"We're over."

"Oh my god, Aria." Spencer hurried to hug her friend, the other two following barely a second later. The four of them stood there quietly until their parents came over to take them to the ceremony.

Three weeks later, Aria was sitting on the train to New York, a small backpack of her belongings sitting next to her. The rest of her things would arrive at her NYU dorm the next day. She watched quietly as the scenery whizzed past the window, her hand resting gently on her stomach. The previous day had been filled with tears as she said goodbye to her friends and extended family. Her immediate family had said goodbye to her that morning at the train station. She had promised to be in contact as soon as she was settled but had avoided requests to visit.

Since breaking up with Ezra, she had decided that she would keep the baby and raise it, as memory of the man she loved, knowing he would probably never want to be with her again. However, she had not told anyone that she was pregnant, simply keeping it to herself as she devised a plan to keep the baby a secret from her friends and family.


	27. The Person At The Door

**Previously:**

_A sudden knock at the door interrupted their conversation and Aria got up to answer it. What she didn't expect was who she saw standing in the hallway outside their apartment._

_"Aria, thank-god I found you, I need your help."_

* * *

Aria stood stunned, looking at the face she hadn't seen in so many years. What on earth made them come here now?

"I-I'm sorry, I'm kind of busy right now." She began to shut the door but the person outside stuck their foot in the way, forcing the door to stay open.

"Please Aria, I really need your help. Something's happened, something bad."

"It's always the way it is with you isn't it? Something goes bad and you come crawling to us for help. Well get lost, you're not wanted." With a great effort, Aria kicked the foot out of the door and slammed it shut, sliding the bolt home.

"Mommy, who was at the door?" Abigail called and Aria looked up at her.

"Someone I don't want you to meet."

"Why?" Aria smiled at her daughter and crossed the apartment, sitting on the couch with Abigail again.

"Because, they hurt me and a lot of people when I was in High School."

"Why did they do that?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I wish I did."

"You should ask them."

"I don't think that will help, unfortunately."

"Oh."

"Abby, all I want is for you to be safe and not have to go through what I did when I was younger. That's why I don't want you to meet the person at the door. Can you understand that?"

"Yes Mommy." Aria hugged her tightly. If only she had known what was going through Abigail's head.


	28. Abby Plays Spy

Ella was sitting in her classroom at Rosewood High, slowly sorting through a quickly growing pile of marking when her phone rang. Glancing at it, she saw Aria's number flash and frowned. What was Aria calling her at this time of day for?

"Aria? Is everything okay?"

"Hi Nana, it's Abby."

"Abby? How did you get your mom's phone?" Ella knew that Aria was very careful of where her phone was and for Abby to be using it, something must be wrong.

"I took it from her bag when she was talking to the lady at school."

"Why?" Now Ella was frowning even more.

"Because I need to ask you a question."

"Oh. What do you need, sweetie." She had known the little girl for barely two years and already was willing to do anything for her.

"The other night, someone knocked at our door but when mommy saw who it was, she told them to go away. I asked her why she did that she told me it was because they hurt lots of people when she was in Rosewood. I wanted to know if you could tell me more about the person."

"Abby, if your mom didn't tell you, there's probably a reason why."

"But, I want to keep mommy safe."

"Sweetie, the best way to keep your mom safe is to forget about the person at the door." Ella heard Abigail sigh on the other end of the line and a smile played at the corner of her lips.

"I guess." It sounded like the little girl was going to say more but a sudden commotion stopped her.

"Abby, what's happening?"

"Mommy's here. And she's angry." Ella could hear the fear in her voice and as much as she wanted to protect the girl, she knew that cotton-balling her would end up in a spoilt brat.

"Okay, well you hang up the phone now and listen to your mom."

"Okay. Bye nana."

"Bye Abby." Just as the call disconnected, Ella heard Aria call out to Abigail and smiled. She knew she would probably get a call from Aria later in the day.

Meanwhile, in New York, Aria had arrived at work and sat down at her desk, sighing at the sight of a pile of paperwork waiting for her. She shoved her bag into the small compartment under the desk and picked up her pen to begin. The tip of the pen had barely touched the paper when the manager stuck her head in the door.

"Aria would you be able to take a tour for me this morning in ten? Sarah's called in sick and there's no one else available."

"Sure. Anything to get away from this paperwork." Aria said with a grin.

"I know the feeling. I would have done the tour myself but I'm swamped with paperwork that's due this afternoon."

"And it just keeps piling up, doesn't it."

"You're telling me. Anyway, I've got to get going. Thank-you so much for this though."

"Any time, Rach. I'll be out in a minute, just get my name badge and clipboard." Rachel smiled and disappeared. Smiling to herself, Aria put the pen down and shoved the paperwork away, reaching for her bag to get out her name badge. It was then that she realised she didn't have her phone. "Shit. Where is it?"

She tipped her bag out to check she hadn't accidentally missed it but realised it was gone. She tried to recall when she might have lost it but couldn't think of anything. The clock on the wall showed that she'd used up all her time and hurried to grab her badge and clipboard, resolving to find the phone later.

After the tour was over, she clocked out for an early lunch hour and headed directly to Abby's school. While on the tour, she had remembered her bag being open when she finished talking to the teacher and thought that Abby might have taken the phone.

"Aria, this is a surprise." The receptionist at Abby's school greeted her.

"Hi Katie. Can I talk to Abby?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I think she took my phone from my bag this morning." Katie laughed and nodded.

"I thought she had something. She ran past me a while ago, clutching something to her chest. If I'd thought it was your phone, I would have stopped her."

"That's okay. Is she inside?"

"She should be. I'll walk you down." Aria smiled and followed Katie down the hall to the door of Abby's classroom. Doing a quick sweep of the room, she soon spotted Abby huddled in the far corner, talking to someone on her phone. When the door opened, Abigail looked up, the look in her eyes indicating that she knew she was in trouble. She said something into the phone and hung it up soon after.

"Abigail Montgomery, come here." Aria said, marching over to her daughter.

"Mommy, I'm sorry."

"Why did you take my phone, Abby?"

"I had to call nana."

"And you couldn't have just asked me if you could call her?"

"No." Aria growled low in her throat.

"Abby give me the phone." Meekly Abigail handed it over. "Right, we'll talk about this later." Turning on her heel, Aria marched out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know everyone is dying to know who was at the door and I promise that it will be revealed in the next chapter. Having said that, the next chapter won't be posted until at least the 11th of November because that's the day after my last exam so between now and then, I won't be posting. Keep reading and reviewing. You guys give me inspiration to keep the story going.**

**xxx**


	29. Blind Date

On the way back to work, Aria looked at her call log and saw that her mom was the last number to be called. Shaking her head, she pressed call and waited for Ella to pick up.

"Aria?"

"Yeah it's me."

"I was wondering when I'd get this call."

"I'm sorry. I thought she knew better than to do that."

"It's okay, Aria. She was just worried about you."

"Worried about me? What for?"

"She said something about someone coming to the door and you not telling her who it was." Aria groaned.

"She's not still hung up on that is she?"

"Clearly she is. Who was it, if I may ask?"

"What did she tell you?"

"She said it was someone who hurt a lot of people while you were in high school."

"Yeah."

"Well? Are you going to tell me who it was?" Aria sighed. Did she really want to tell her mother?

"…"

"I didn't catch that. You have to speak up." Ella knew her daughter was just trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Jenna Marshal."

"As in Toby's sister?"

"How many Jenna Marshals do you know?"

"Sorry. What did she want?"

"Apparently something bad has happened and wants my help." Ella could just about see Aria rolling her eyes as she spoke.

"Why on earth would she turn to you? It's not like you were ever particularly friends with her."

"She used to ask us for help in the past when we were dealing with A but I haven't heard from her since I left. I didn't even know she knew where I was."

"I'm sure there are ways of finding someone."

"And you didn't use them?" Aria laughed quietly.

"I know you Aria. And when you disappeared, I knew you would have a reason for it. I knew you would come home when you were ready."

"I guess. Hey, I'm just about back at work but I'll call you again later, okay?"

"Okay. But Aria, don't be too hard on Abby. She only wanted to help."

"I think it might be too late for that. I already yelled at her when I went to pick up the phone."

"She'll understand, honey. You just have to make sure she understands why you reacted the way you did."

"About what? The phone or Jenna?"

"Both, if possible. It's just the two of you living there. You can't keep secrets like that from her. Of course there'll be things that she doesn't need to know but that has to be up to you to decide on what."

"I guess. Look, I've got to go. Thanks for the advice, though."

"Anytime, Aria." Sighing, Aria disconnected the call and walked into her office and sat down to do the paperwork she'd been going to do that morning.


	30. I'm Sorry

Later that day, Aria went back to Abigail's school to pick her up. Inevitably, the little girl visibly cowered away from her mother and was silent for the whole ride home. Once in their apartment, Abigail made a bee-line for her room and shut the door. Sighing, Aria put away her bag and kicked off her heels before going to Abigail's door and knocking.

"Abby?"

"No."

"Abby, open the door please." She heard Abigail moving around inside the room and smiled. No matter how grown up Abigail might think she is, she knew that Aria was still in charge. The door opened to reveal a tearful Abigail.

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me, young lady. Come out here, please." Aria could feel her earlier annoyance at her daughter rising again but pushed it away.

"Abby, I talked to nana after I left your school. I know you were curious about the person at the door but you need to respect my wishes to not tell you who it was."

"But…"

"No buts Abby. You're only six and I still need to take care of you. That being said, after I talked with Nana, I made a decision. It's only the two of us here for now and we need to look after each other."

"I don't get it."

"What I'm saying, Abby, is that there'll be no more secrets in this apartment. Obviously there are still going to be things that you don't need to know about because you're still a little girl. But if it concerns our safety, it won't be a secret. Is that okay with you?" Abigail was silent for a moment, processing what her mother had just said. After a bit, she nodded slowly.

"Yes mommy."

"Good. Now, I'm sorry I yelled at you at school but that doesn't mean you don't get a punishment. You were still naughty, so no TV for tonight and you can go to bed early."

"Okay." Abigail smiled, happy that the punishment hadn't been too severe. "I'm sorry I took your phone mommy."

"That's okay, sweetie, just don't do it again, okay?"

"You got it." Aria frowned at her daughter's use of such a strange phrase but shrugged it off. Abigail was already a proficient reader, reading books way above the level of other kids her age so it wasn't much of a surprise that she had a wide vocabulary as well.


	31. Ghouls and Spooks

October came and Aria found herself dragged into the Halloween spirit. So far she'd managed to avoid it but this year Abigail begged her for hours to decorate the apartment and go trick-or-treating. Fortunately, Spencer and Toby had made some time to come and visit. They were staying in a hotel not far from Aria and Abigail's apartment and the two families decided to go trick or treating together.

"Mommy, mommy. I need help." Abigail came running out of her room in only her underwear and a white blouse at about four o'clock on the afternoon of Halloween. Spencer and Toby had already arrived and were in the kitchen helping Aria to put the finishing touches on some biscuits and cupcakes she'd made for any trick-or-treaters that came to their apartment. Their son, Jai was asleep in the living room.

"Abby, go back into your room and put some clothes on please, we have people here that don't need to see you running around in your underwear." Aria scolded and Abigail ran off. Spencer laughed.

"Just leave it Aria. She's excited."

"I know. But I am trying to teach her to be a lady." This time it was Toby who laughed.

"Growing up with you, that's gonna be hard." Aria threw a marshmallow at him.

"It's my apartment, watch what you say, Mister." They had to drop their fun argument because Abigail came back then, dressed in a blue and white checked dress, the white blouse underneath.

"Mommy, can you do my hair?" She asked.

"Um…"

"Aria, you finish here. I can do her hair." Spencer offered, knowing her friend's hands were covered in icing.

"Thanks, Aunty Spencer." Abigail grinned and led Spencer into the living room, leaving Aria and Toby to finish in the kitchen. It wasn't much longer before they were ready to go. Abigail looked adorable dressed as Dorothy Gale, carrying a little wicker basket in one hand and a stuffed toy Scottish Terrier in the other. Spencer and Toby dressed up as Sandy and Danny from Grease after Sandy's makeover. They had dressed Jai in a Pinocchio costume although he had absolutely no idea what all the fuss was about. Aria donned a sparkly pink dress, much to the joy of Spencer, and was dressed as Glinda the Good Witch.

They made sure Aria's Halloween treats were accessible and made their way down the hall to Mrs Aitkens' apartment first. Abigail knocked on the door and waited, hopping from one foot to the other until the door swung open.

"Trick or Treat!" The little girl cried and Mrs Aitkens laughed.

"Well, well, who's this I've got knocking at my door?" 

"I'm Dorothy and mommy's Glinda." Abigail explained, doing a little twirl on the spot. 

"I see. And who are your friends?"

"This is my Aunty Spencer and Uncle Toby. They're visiting from Rosewood with Jai." Abigail told her, pointing to the sleeping baby as she spoke.

"Very nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Miss Montgomery, here." Mrs Aitkens said, patting Abigail on the head before she reached back into her apartment for a bowl of candy, giving some to the excited little girl.

"Thanks, Mrs Aitkens." They all waved goodbye before heading further down the hall to the elevator. Their Trick or Treating trip didn't take them very far from the apartment building but they did get a significant amount of candy and they found that nearly all of Aria's treats were gone when they got back.

"Well, that was a good trip. We should do this again some time." Spencer said.

"Yeah. But maybe when Abby and Jai can stay awake the whole time." Aria agreed. The last ten minutes of their outing had been with Abigail sleeping on her mother's shoulder as Aria carried her home.

"Of course. Well, we'd better get back to our hotel. We've got a long drive home tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks for coming though. I hope Jai enjoyed what he was awake for." Aria said, hugging her friend and kissing Jai's forehead. Then she hugged Toby and waved as they made their way down the hall before closing the door and grinning in delight. It had been a successful night and she hoped there would be many more to come.


End file.
